out that the opinion of music critics is more influenced by the ranking than by the quality of the performers. This is not necessarily surprising, since there are many musicians who may have been good during the competition, but have vanished afterward, leaving the critics recollections unaffected.The conclusion that it pays to do well in the competition is strongly supported by the data. However, the fact that judges’ rankings are affected by order and timing of appearance in a competition needs to be stressed, and sheds some doubt on their ability to cast fully objective judgments. On the other hand, if a competition has many professional-level artistic participants, it may not even be possible to make an objective judgment of who is "best"; because: given numerous professional-level artistic performers, there may not even be room for the concept of comparison; since this presumes the existence of a "best" interpretation, which is itself questionable (and would be a commercialization of art; viewing it from a mass-consumption or absolutist point of view). Bibliography On Competitions - Dealing with Performance Stress by Denis Azabagic References Further reading Music Competitions - Who Wins? by Linda Anne Engelhardt Changes in Piano Competitions Alter How Juries Use Their Many "Texts" by Sean Bennett (2002) The Dark Side of Piano Competitions (August 7, 2009) Playing Up A Storm: The Great Debate (Sydney Morning Herald; Friday, July 7, 2000) Winning beginnings (January 10, 2002) Yugoslav Pianist: the Man "Who Killed Chopin" (alluding to those jurors, who could not accept a stunning emotional Chopin-interpretation; simply because it was different from the playing they were used to) (originally published in 11.11.1980) Can a Pianist Sway a Competition Jury? (May 25, 1989) In Competitions, the Fun Is Being Called for Jury Duty (December 18, 1988) Piano Juror by Leslie Gerber The murky music prize by Jessica Duchen (The Independent; 21 April 2009) Behind the scenes at piano competitions by Michael Johnson (27.08.2009) 'Trill' goes behind scenes in music world by Edward Reichel (Aug. 22, 2009) Brain, heart and fingers Music: Judging a piano competition requires comparing performances that are often very different, and all good (July 28, 1998) Classical guitar